Hearts Still Beating
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Angry after a bad day, Ashley Hardy lashed out... but what if there's no mending things this time? (Co-written with werewolf-queen-022)
1. Speculation Gone Too Far?

_**October 1st 2018…**_

_Amanda walked down the hallway, Ashley shoving past her and nearly knocking her down… and Amanda's right hand going to her swollen stomach as Ashley saw the brunette and immediately rushed to her._

_"Sorry, Mandy. Did I hurt you or the baby?" Ashley replied._

_"We're okay but what's bugging ya? I know something is." Amanda responded._

_"Kevin was being…" Ashley replied, trailing off._

_"A yutz?" Amanda responded._

"_Yes basically." Ashley answered._

_"Let me know what he said and I'll go slap him." Amanda replied._

"_Don't worry about it, he's just being an ass like he normally is." Ashley explained._

_Ashley walked away, Amanda sitting down and feeling the baby kick._

_"I know, something ain't right here." Amanda responded before she saw Seth and he walked over. "She was headed towards your locker room, maybe you can get a straight answer out of her." She explained, Seth sitting down and lightly rubbing her shoulders._

_"Someone upset her?" Seth asked._

_"Kevin did but Ash won't tell me." Amanda responded, brushing a stray hair off of her navy smocked sash tie maternity midi dress._

"_I'll go and talk to her." Seth said._

_He left, finding Ashley after walking into the locker room._

_"Mandy said that you're upset." Seth responded._

"_I told her to not worry about it! God she just doesn't listen!" Ashley replied._

_"Well she's your sister, she tends to worry about you!" Seth responded. "And it must be something pretty serious if it's got you so riled up." _

"_Jeez it's fucking nothing! Kevin Owens was being a fucking idiot so what?" Ashley responded._

_"Well it helps to talk about it!" Seth replied._

_"I would to her if she didn't have a tiny human growing in her!" Ashley snapped at him._

"_What did Kevin say that was so bad?!" Seth demanded._

"_Do you really want to know?!" Ashley yelled._

_"Out with it!" Seth responded._

"_Kevin accused me of being pregnant because I laughed during that stupid try not to laugh challenge! Because you know showing emotions could mean one thing only!" Ashley replied._

_"He's an idiot, it does you no good to bottle up that hurt though." Seth responded._

"_Well what else am I meant to do with it? Shall I live stream it on insta?" Ashley asked sarcastically._

_"Talking to your family and loved ones isn't that hard, Ash."_

_The two turned around, seeing Finn._

"_Oh great, of course you will show up." Ashley muttered before pulling her hoodie over her head._

_"Yeah, to say two things. One, you have Mandy all confused and from what I had overheard, you hate that she's pregnant. And two, don't show up at the gender reveal party on Wednesday, don't expect any more updates or to be the baby's godmother." Finn responded before he left, leaving Ashley wide eyed and slack jawed._

"_That SOB! I don't hate her for being pregnant! I hate the fact I'm being accused of being pregnant because I smiled and laughed in a video!" Ashley yelled._

_"Well you should've told her instead of brushing her off." Seth responded before he left._

_He hoped things would calm down…_

**Present time…**

Amanda was snacking on jalapenos and mint chocolate chip ice cream when Finn walked in and Seth followed him.

"Why should I let her be around mine and Mandy's child when she can't keep her temper controlled?! She went off at Mandy last Monday and made her cry!" Finn responded.

"Well now you pissed her off that much because you jumped to conclusions instead of letting her open up in her own timing!" Seth said.

"Ash never opens up anymore, just buries her head in the sand!" Amanda responded, startling Seth but he chalked it up to her being hormonal.

"She was never one to open up anyway!" Seth said.

Amanda grabbed her chiming LG Aristo 2, seeing a text from Ashley.

_'Talk your bastard husband into letting me be around the baby!'_

Amanda put her phone on Do Not Disturb, setting it aside and rubbing her stomach as the baby kicked… and she stood up and went to go find Ashley after reassuring Finn that she and the baby will be okay.

She opened the door to the Firelovers locker room, Ashley startled to see her.

"Only if you tell me the truth. This isn't just about some Try Not To Laugh challenge, you haven't been your normal self for months." Amanda responded.

"Why should I ever tell you?! You're getting your bullshit happy ending and I gave up my one chance to be a mom when I gave up-" Ashley yelled before covering her mouth, Amanda eyes wide with shock.

"You were pregnant… and gave you child up to keep Kyle from ever knowing." Amanda responded as she put the pieces together. "The year off you took from Impact… it wasn't strictly to heal from the abuse. You had a baby and didn't tell me?" She replied, brushing tears away.

"A little boy…" Ashley responded as she held back tears herself… and Amanda's right hand went to her own stomach as the baby kicked.

"Liam Christopher has a cousin out there somewhere…" Amanda replied, Ashley realising where the middle name came from.

"Of course _they _have a place in your heart but I clearly don't!" Ashley responded with a sneer… and Amanda slapped her hard across the face, Ashley completely taken aback by that.

"You expect me to act like Chris, Nancy and Daniel weren't a huge part of my life?! It won't change anything but Chris wasn't in his right mind, Ashley!" Amanda shouted before she left, Finn following her and Seth in shock as he realised that Ashley had used the worst thing that happened in Amanda's life as a weapon to hurt Amanda.

Ashley saw Seth walk in and she attempted to kiss him but he backed away, grabbed his things and left without a word… and Ashley slammed the door and locked it before she yelled in rage as she trashed it.

She knew he had broken up with her without a word being said.


	2. Wounded Deep

_**May 14th 2018…**_

_Finding an unopened Clearblue Easy Ovulation Kit, Ashley looked up at Amanda._

_"So much for waiting until our upcoming storyline was over!" Ashley replied, throwing the kit at Amanda._

_"Your storyline. Not mine anymore and don't lie to me by saying that you didn't know because you damn well did! You tuned me out afterwards by blaring Spawn Of Me through your ears!" Amanda responded as she held the kit, Ashley starting to pull a face but was cut off by Amanda saying "Pull resting bitch face at me again and I'll rearrange that face of yours, I'm not changing my mind because you have a limited time to have children and want to take your anger out on me!" and Ashley turning furious._

_"How fucking dare you?!" Ashley yelled._

_"How dare I what, go after what I want in life?! I don't need your permission, Ashley, you have no right treating me like I'm a traitor! And if I am one by trying to start a family, too goddamn bad!" Amanda retorted._

"_And do you know who was the writer behind our storyline huh?! Of course not because you don't care that it was me who came up with the idea and had been writing the scripts! I get 3 hours of sleep each night to work on the storyline! But you know what forget it! Here was the next script but I'm just gonna throw it away!" Ashley yelled, before throwing the scripts into the bin and leaving._

_Amanda stretched out on the couch after slamming the door… and heard it open before seeing Seth and Finn walk in, Finn and Amanda hugging._

_"Didn't go over well?" Seth responded._

_"With Ash, nothing goes over well anymore." Amanda replied._

_"I'll go try to calm her down." Seth responded before he left._

_"He's gonna need a lot of luck." Finn replied._

_"He should wear body armor." Amanda responded before they kissed._

_Seth found Ashley, who was covering up her A.C tattoo with concealer._

"_Can I help you?" Ashley asked before drinking a mouthful of Redbull._

_"Yes, by calming the hell down and not living life angrily." Seth replied._

"_I have every right to be angry I've put a lot of work into that fucking storyline! The first storyline I've ever written and she threw it away!" Ashley responded before grabbing a notebook labeled 'Storyline' and throwing it in the bin._

_"It's a storyline! They're not gonna put their life on hold and that's their decision!" Seth replied as TJ walked in. "TJ, we're in the middle of a conversation here." He responded._

_"And Mandy and Finn are out in the ring." TJ replied, turning on the Tv._

_"This isn't easy to say but… tonight is my last event as a wrestler. I'm not injured or sick, I'm retiring on my own terms because I feel that it's time to." Amanda responded, the fans chanting for her to stay and Amanda brushing tears away as she and Finn hugged and kissed. "I've been wrestling since I was 15 and I'll always love this business… but it's time for me and my husband to start a new chapter in our life."_

_Ashley turned the Tv off after snatching the remote from TJ… and TJ knew she was pissed off…_

**Present time**_**, October 2nd 2018…**_

Amanda opened her eyes at just a little after 4 in the morning, sitting up and moving her legs to the side to stand up so she could head into the restroom as Liam squirmed.

She washed her hands after flushing the toilet and pulling her maternity underwear and oversized pajama pants up and tying them before getting back into the bed she and Finn were sharing… and saw Seth asleep in the second bed.

Amanda felt Finn's left hand on her stomach, feeling Liam's kicks calm down… and she turned to Finn before they kissed.

"I'm so sorry she hurt you that way, Darlin'." Finn whispered.

"It's her that misses out after that… she confessed something though. She had a baby and put the baby up for adoption." Amanda responded quietly, Finn holding her.

"Kyle's kid…" Finn replied.

"If I had to bet, TJ was the first person she told… intentionally, anyway." Amanda responded, Liam moving around in response to his parents hushed voices. "I know, buddy. We're mad too." She whispered.

When they woke up, Amanda took a prenatal vitamin and closed the bottle… and her, Finn and Seth ate when Finn returned with food before Amanda went to go clean off and Finn helped her shave her legs as she couldn't reach her feet anymore.

_'I was so sure that would've been Ashley and me… me helping her with whatever she needed.' _Seth thought.

Amanda brushed a stray hair off of her black waffle knit tiered hi low maternity top and grey side mesh panel capri maternity leggings after getting dressed, Finn helping her put her socks and boots on.

Meanwhile down the hallway, Ashley finished stuffing her things into her duffel bag and left a note on the bed before leaving and heading out of the hotel.

"They wouldn't give two fucks about me being gone." She muttered to herself before flagging down a taxi and getting in. "Airport, train station, whatever is closer."

The driver nodded and drove, Ashley resting her head against the window.

She ended up waiting at the airport, her flight being delayed… and her checking her IPhone XS, seeing a text from TJ.

_'I can see you, you know!'_

Ashley looked around in a paranoid manner before seeing TJ walk over.

"Aw crap." Ashley muttered. "I'm not going back, you can't make me." She replied.

"Yes, I can. Like this!" TJ responded, picking Ashley up over his shoulder and leaving with her as she started hitting his back… and she yelled out as he spanked her right hip.

"Dude, what the hell?!" Ashley responded angrily.

"Stop it!" TJ growled.

"Help! Help! Someone help me!" Ashley yelled.

"Yeah like that's gonna…. fuck!" TJ replied, shouting as a couple police officers came over. "She owes her friend an apology and a full explanation!" He explained, the officers turning to Ashley.

"Miss, is he telling the truth?" The female officer asked.

"Unfortunately." Ashley responded, TJ setting her on the ground and her getting in the RV as the cops left, TJ getting into the RV and closing the door. "An apology?! Mandy's the one naming her child after a killer!" She replied angrily.

"Now you know damn well that Chris was not in his right mind in his final days! He treated Mandy like family and his words to her the last day they spoke was _"Get Ashley some help, don't let her or yourself spiral!"_. And she's gone above and beyond to help you out of trouble! Why shouldn't she be happy, because you want everyone else miserable?!" TJ responded.

"She's not meant to be a mom and you know it, that child is a mistake!" Ashley yelled, TJ slapping her.

"Snap out of it! You claim that you care about your little sister, prove it instead of using everything against her!" TJ shouted.

He drove the RV and Ashley brushed her raven hair back as she thought back.


	3. Everything Turns Into A Fight

**_A/N: First off, I apologize for the delay between updates. I'm not sure why but I haven't heard from my friend and co-writer Werewolf-queen-022 in over a month. I hope that she's okay because we all are in the middle of a pandemic that shows no signs of going away anytime soon._**

_**September 25th 2017…**_

_Ashley snuck a quick look at Amanda's LG Aristo, accessing her Google history… and her eyes widened when she saw that Amanda had been researching methods of how to conceive a child, Ashley turning pissed off._

_She looked up as Amanda walked in, Ashley throwing the phone to her and Amanda barely catching it._

"_Didn't know you were that desperate for a child!" Ashley hissed._

_"Me and Finn are looking up every option for the future, why are you pissed off about it?! And for once, don't pull that "If you have to ask, you obviously don't know!" crap, a truthful answer would be better." Amanda responded as she put her phone away, having to duck as Ashley had thrown a poster frame at her. "What the fucking hell?!" She shouted after glass flew everywhere._

_"You have no right trying to start a family! Finn is just manipulating you away from everyone else!" Ashley yelled… and Amanda grabbed the door handle, opening the door and grabbing Ashley's duffel bag and throwing it into the hallway._

_"Kick rocks instead if you're just gonna shove me further and further away! I've had it with being your sister since you only see me as one when it's convenient for you!" Amanda responded after grabbing Ashley by her hoodie collar and throwing her out into the hallway._

_Amanda slammed the door as Ashley picked up the grey and red duffel bag… and held back tears as she walked off, stopping when she saw Finn._

_And she stormed over, promptly slapping him across the face._

_"What the hell, Ash, have you left your mind somewhere else?!" Finn replied angrily, his left hand on his face._

_"Tell her that you've changed your mind and go break up with her!" Ashley shouted._

_"You know what? You don't have a say in anything that goes on in mine and Mandy's life, stop being a control freak!" Finn replied before he left, Ashley's left eye briefly twitching in anger._

_'We'll see about that!' Ashley thought before she left…_

**Present time**_**, October 2nd 2018…**_

Amanda heard her LG Aristo 2 chiming, picking it up as she finished lunch and had been snacking on jalapenos… and saw a text from Bo.

_'She does think of you as family, Tiny.'_

As Amanda was about to respond, Finn got her to put her phone down.

"No stress, Darlin'." Finn replied, Amanda lightly rubbing her stomach as Liam sleepily kicked.

"I know, buddy, Uncle Bo is a moron." Amanda responded.

_Unravel-Acoustic version _by TK from Ling tosite sigure played through Amanda's earbuds later… and she brushed tears away as the song always made her sad.

_'If she thought of me as family, why would she use what happened over a decade ago to hurt me?!' _Amanda thought as she started crying, feeling Finn's arms wrap around her and turning to him before they hugged and Finn lightly rubbing her back… and the two kissing after Amanda took her earbuds out and closed Spotify out.

"You know, I have an idea. Let's go out to a nice place for dinner tonight." Finn responded, Amanda smiling before they kissed.

In a rust paisley print ruffle hi-low hem maternity dress after Amanda had taken a shower and applied her makeup, Amanda put on white ballet flats and Finn helped her up.

And noticing his Giorgio Armani cologne and how Finn had rolled the sleeves up a bit on his white button down shirt, Amanda pulled him closer and they kissed before they grabbed what they needed and left.

At Ocean Prime, Amanda carefully ate a well cooked 8 oz Filet Mignon and Parmesan Truffle Fries and Finn ate a Teriyaki Salmon and Ahi Tuna Tartare.

Amanda carefully drank her glass of water before Finn helped her up and she headed to the ladies restroom, Finn checking his IPhone X and seeing a text from Bo.

_'What the hell happened?! Ash won't talk and Tiny won't answer her calls either.'_

_'It's better explained in person, Bo.' _Finn replied before Amanda returned to him and they kissed.

They paid the bill and left, Finn driving carefully as Amanda lightly rubbed her stomach when Liam kicked.

At the townhouse, Amanda relaxed after changing into pajamas and taking her makeup off… and lying down on her side with the body pillow helping her stay comfortable as Finn lightly massaged her feet, _Miami Vice _on their Sony 85 inch Tv.

And Amanda brushed her own tears away as Rosella tearfully said _"I'm afraid you wouldn't like me much if I told you."_, Finn and Amanda hugging.

"Why couldn't he just leave her alone?" Amanda replied softly.

"Because he was a sick bastard. She didn't deserve any of that abuse." Finn responded before they kissed.

Curled up in their bed after a late night snack, Amanda tried to relax as Liam kicked and squirmed… and Finn rested his head on her stomach.

"No one will ever hurt you, Liam. If anyone tries you, you tell us, okay?" Finn responded, feeling Liam lightly kick against his face.

Finn stretched out by Amanda before they kissed and held each other, falling into sleep.

_**October 3rd 2018…**_

Having taken a prenatal vitamin, Amanda closed the bottle and walked downstairs before she and Finn kissed and ate pumpkin spice pancakes and bacon… and Amanda flinched a bit as Liam kicked, Amanda thinking back to Monday night.

_"Of course they have a place in your heart but I clearly don't!"_

_'You didn't speak to me for a year, then tried to act like it was my fault! Now you want to get pissed off about the name that Finn and I chose for the baby boy that he and I created?! Well don't walk back into my life, Ashley!' _Amanda thought as she blocked Ashley's number, blocked her from Twitter and Instagram and deleted all of the posts involving the two of them.

And Amanda saw a text from Bo after she got ready for the day.

_'I take it you found out?'_

_'Ashley admitted it on Monday night. Then turned around and said "Of course they have a place in your heart but I clearly don't!", acting like it was my fault that Kevin Owens pissed her off!' _Amanda replied.

_'Tiny, forget about her rage and focus on yours and Finn's baby. And don't worry, I won't get drunk at the gender reveal party.'_

_'You better stay sober or I'm taking your car keys.' _Amanda replied before she and Finn kissed, Amanda brushing a stray hair off of her teal lace overlay maternity maxi dress.

Outside in the backyard, everyone held a confetti cannon up and shot them off to reveal blue confetti.

"I betted on a niece!" Dean grumbled.

"Quiet, Dean!" Roman responded.

Dean looked to where Amanda was… and noticed that Ashley wasn't around.

And Dean was going to find out why.


End file.
